


chaser

by azureforest



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Casual Intimacy, M/M, Tending to Wounds, Trans Male Character, dawn brigade mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 19:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20120704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azureforest/pseuds/azureforest
Summary: theres people with more urgent wounds than him, anyways- he’ll wait, and then, maybe, laura’ll have time for him.unless leonardo gets to him first.(he almost always does.)|| rally spectrum contribution.





	chaser

**Author's Note:**

> long time no edleo! it was an honor to be able to write this for rally spectrum and to be able to work together with so many amazing people o7
> 
> ive also been itching to post this for a while so i may unleash my tomfoolery upon this tag once more!! im just. proud of this and excited to post it, haha
> 
> that aside! as usual, please enjoy :D

Gravel crunches under wandering feet, loitering where the infirmary is just in sight. Edward shifts his weight from one foot to the other, testing what he can and can't do, tiptoeing around the shoulds and shouldn’ts while he’s at it- Winces when his side twinges when he twists around too far. Oh, ouch, no more excessive action today, but he… Should be golden by tomorrow! He’s not unscathed, But the fading red stripe up his side can hardly be called serious. Could’ve been, had he been a little further to the right, but it isn't. That's what matters, right?

Right. There’s no immediate need to see a healer- He’s one of the luckier ones.

But, still. Picking at the slash in his shirt, Edward recalls a long tirade from Leonardo and Laura about the limits of hasty field healing, the risks taken if even sealed wounds weren't properly looked after, and feels a little guilty.

But! He has his reasons. Micaiah’s doing _ leader stuff_, Laura’s probably busy, and he’s- He’s not keen on having a stranger look him over, observant eyes and clinical touch and all, not for something this minor. _Especially _ not for something this minor. Micaiah, Nolan and Leonardo _ know__,_ Tormod’s probably figured it out, and Sothe and Laura _ understand__,_ but-

But. His breath catches a little, and he pretends it’s from him pressing his fingers into the wound. No. It’s fine, it’ll be fine- He’ll get a change of clothes, grab an apple, sit on a bench somewhere and try not to think about how he’d rather be training. It’s fine!

As he turns to leave, a familiar voice cuts through his thoughts, welcome in its timbre; Edward suppresses a grin at the dismayed shout of his name when he keeps walking, cackles when the footfalls behind him shift into a jog as he speeds up. He looks over his shoulder, at long blond hair and a fair face pulled into a formidable scowl.

Edward lights up at the sight.

“Your face’s gonna get stuck like that if you keep that up!” he trills, ducking out of the way of a soldier who stumbles and shouts. Leonardo grimaces, apologizes to the flabbergasted soldier on his friend's behalf- Then turns his glare right at Edward again.

“_Get! Back!_ _Here!_”

“_You’ll never catch me aliiiiive! _”

They round a corner, weaving a quick path towards their tent, but Edward’s not quite as fleet-footed as usual. Strained breaths hiss between his teeth, even during their lighthearted race- One Leonardo could’ve won, had he not grabbed his partner’s arm and tugged him to a stop the second he was close enough.

“You _ moron! _ ” Leonardo’s shouting, which is rarely a good thing, but he's also laughing, which probably overrides that for now. “Edward, _ no! _”

“Edward _ yes_,” Said moron wheezes in reply. “But okay, you win. What's up?

Leonardo spends a few moments trying and failing to look threatening- Turns his eyes heavensward, covers them with a hand, takes a deep,_ deep _ breath. Edward at least has the grace to start looking sheepish when the blond looks back at him; Evidently, the deeply unamused look he levels Edward with means he’s regained control of his faculties.

“You _ know _ what’s up, and _ you _,” He punctuates that with a poke to Edward’s ribs, which the boy twists away from, “-shouldn’t’ve run like that.” A pause as Edward tilts his head in faux-confusion. Leonardo sighs, just short of explosively; All remaining traces of mirth drain from him in that noise alone, and Edward knows he’s in for it.

“I saw you get hit.” Leonardo elaborates, voice flat. “Tormod said he had you covered, but I was looking everywhere for you after we got back.”

“Oh.” Edward winces, gaze flitting downwards. Leonardo opens his mouth to scold him- _ Even the smallest of cuts can fester without proper attention, you _ ** _know_ ** _ this- _ But thinks better of it and sighs again, pushes open the tent flap and holds it for the other to pass.

“Get in here, we’re looking over that. Won’t get anywhere standing around.”

“_Get in here_,” Edward parrots goofily, but complies, and it takes all of Leonardo’s willpower to refrain from smacking him upside the head. He settles for ruffling his hair instead, messy and damp from being towel-dried; _ at least he’d washed _, Leonardo notes with a dim sort of satisfaction as Edward bats the offending hand away, strips off his shirt and plops onto the bedroll with a relieved noise.

Obviously, he hadn't washed the shirt, pastel yellow still mottled with dirt and bloodstains, nevermind the fact that it has a hole in it that Edward is now oh-so-helpfully picking at. Leonardo feels a headache coming on, bites back _ yet another _ sigh as he gently wrests the garment from Edward’s grip.

“I’ll fix it later.”

The brunet blows a raspberry. “Fine, fine.” He replies, grabs the edges of his binder and rolls them up, pulls it over his back and-

And.

And…?

“_Nhrgh?!_”

… Gets stuck. Hands scrabble at the edges for a few seconds, before giving up.

“Help,” He squeaks. Kicks his legs a little, as if that’ll help. (It doesn't.)

“Leonardo, I’m dying, help.”

There's a noise to his side of equal parts distress and amusement, hands hooking under the binder from a better angle, but why the heck are they so _ cold__?!_ Edward squawks and twists away and falls over- Thinks he’s bumped into something, but oh cripes, Leonardo’s steadying him but his hands are on his back and they’re _ so very cold. _

“Stop moving!”

“Shit, are you made of _ ice _ or something?!”

“Stay still, dammit!!”

Several grueling seconds pass until Edward wiggles back upright without further accident, until Leonardo finally gets a proper hold that won’t pop any seams or dislocate any limbs. The binder finally slips over Edward’s shoulders, and he all but yanks it off over his head.

“FREEDOM!” Edward bellows, as if they aren't in a tent the two of them had just nearly bowled over from the inside. Leonardo hushes him, but can't quite bite back a grin- So he turns away to hide it, grabbing the salve and bandaging he had stashed away in his pack. When he turns back around, Edward’s squaring his shoulders, rolling them with a groan of pure, unfiltered _ relief_. Blue eyes narrow sharply until grey meet them halfway. Edward once again has the grace to look apologetic.

Goddess, at this rate, Leonardo might meet his quota for scolding for the next five years, disregarding that he’s possibly already met it for a lifetime. Hands press into his eyes as he heaves another great, terrible sigh.

“That's three and a half sighs.” Edward quips.

Leonardo slowly lowers his hands. “You- You are _ unbelievable__._”

The other grins. “Half, ‘cause you cut one off earlier.”

Leonardo laughs, snorts, stops, looks horrified. Edward guffaws. They’re both reduced into laughter within seconds, doubled over, shoulders shaking at how perfectly ridiculous it all is. It’s a blissful normalcy between receding giggles and messy bedrolls; Leonardo somewhat regrets that patching Edward up of all things is _ normal _ _,_ as well, but the brunet doesn’t mind quite as much. The tension in his shoulders fades as he closes his eyes while Leonardo gets to work.

The salve stings on cuts Edward had forgotten about, but the coolness of Leonardo’s hands soothes the aches. Breath fans out warm on his collarbone as Leonardo mutters to no one in particular, to which Edward hums mindless affirmatives- Long fingers ghost over his skin, probe his ribs, press into the soft flesh around scars, old and new. At some point, grey eyes crack open to observe, watching the familiar gentleness of Leonardo’s movements, the way his brow furrows and his lips part slightly when he focuses.

There is no enigma here, no exception, no anomaly. Edward is simply Edward, in the same way Leonardo is Leonardo, steadfast partners, best friends, two boys stumbling through life, heart to inexperienced heart. They need only sit in the quiet, in trust sweet and soft.

The thought alone is unbelievably comforting.

And it lingers, even after salve and gauze is applied, all in place. Leaning back, Leonardo grabs one of his shirts and tosses it to Edward- Talks, while Edward’s pulling it on, not bothering to check which side is the front.

“Edward.” Leonardo pauses, wondering if he should at least mention that Edward’s wearing it inside-out. He doesn’t. “You know you can just come straight to me, right?”

Edward collects his binder, Sothe’s old hand-me-down, folds it neatly before shoving it into his pack. “Yeah,” he replies.

A beat. Edward doesn't elaborate, but looks like he wants to say more.

Leonardo waits.

Nothing comes.

Leonardo sighs. “Why don't you?”

Edward taps his chin in contemplation- Doubt flickers over his face in response to a selfish thought, but if anyone deserves to hear it, it's Leonardo. “Well,” He begins, then stops again.

Leonardo waits, again.

“I think,” Edward continues. “I like it when you come after me. Like you’ll always come back. Like you’ll always come to find me, even if I’m lost in the deepest ends of hell, or something.”

“Oh. I would.” Leonardo blurts in response, because Edward isn't wrong. It’s funny that Edward actually looks surprised at the utter lack of hesitance, even if it’s brief- But grey eyes still search for blue, lock on, painfully honest. His voice is a whisper when he confesses, soft and low.

“And, I think, I’d do the same for you.”

Leonardo freezes, the hypocrite, but thaws quickly with a laugh- Warmth prickles under his skin. “Then, for Ashera’s sake, come looking for me too, sometimes.”

Edward laughs along, all the lighter as he reaches over to lace their fingers together. “Maybe I will.”  



End file.
